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SPRING VALLEY

Evergreen fire: Rabbis call evidence speculative, conjecture; ask judge to dump indictment

Steve Lieberman
Rockland/Westchester Journal News

SPRING VALLEY — The two rabbis charged with causing the fatal fire at Evergreen Court Home for Adults are asking a Rockland judge to dismiss the multiple-count grand jury indictment.

The dismissal motion contends instead of providing evidence, the Rockland District Attorney's Office offered the grand jurors speculation and conjecture that Nathaniel and Aaron Sommer caused the fatal fire on March 22, 2021.

Nathaniel Sommer, far right, and his son Aaron Sommer appear in court at Rockland County Court in New City on Oct. 28, 2021. They were charged with manslaughter-2, arson and other charges resulting from the fatal fire at Evergreen Court for Adults in Spring Valley in March.

"The Court particularly should consider the implausibility and illogic of the unwarranted multiple inferences that underlie this prosecution against (rabbis Nathaniel and Aaron Sommer), and that the People’s expert’s conclusion is — in the language of the Court of Appeals — 'worthless,'" the dismissal motion states.

Dismissal motion: Defense attorney asks judge to dismiss fatal fire indictment against Nathaniel and Aaron Sommer 

Evergreen fire: Rabbis plead not guilty to causing the deaths of a firefighter and resident

Fatal Fire: Two building inspectors among 6 charged; two accused of manslaughter

District Attorney Thomas Walsh didn't respond to a request for comment on the 92-page motion to dismiss. Peter Walker, chief of detectives, said the office received the dismissal motion and has until Aug. 15 to respond. The Sommers' next appearance is scheduled for Sept. 17

The District Attorney's Office has not revealed the cause of the fire following an investigation. Investigators and firefighters have been told not to discuss the investigation with the media.

Two face manslaughter charges

The inferno 15 months ago caused the adult home, a massive building on Lafayette Street, to collapse.

Nathaniel Sommer and his son, Aaron Sommer, have been accused of causing the fire while kosherizing the facility's ovens and kitchen for the Passover holiday. The Sommers used a 20-pound propane-injected blowtorch to cleanse the ovens.

The Sommers pleaded not guilty to multiple counts, including two counts of second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, fourth-degree arson, second-degree reckless endangerment, and three separate assault charges.

Authorities also have accused the Sommers of violating multiple state fire safety regulations, including lacking permits to use the high-powered torch. The allegations include requesting the facility's fire alarm system be taken offline with the county's central fire dispatching center and placed on test mode while the Sommers torch-cleansed the kitchen.

Spring Valley firefighter Jared Lloyd, 35, died in March 2021 fire to Evergreen Court Home for Adults in Spring Valley

Jared Lloyd, 35, a veteran volunteer firefighter and father of two young sons, died when the building collapsed. He and dozens of other volunteer firefighters rescued 112 residents. Oliver Hueston, 79, a resident, died in the fire.

The Sommers also cleansed the nearby Golden Acres Home for Adults. Displaced Evergreen Court residents were taken to Golden Acres, among other facilities owned by the Schonberger family of Monsey and New Jersey. No criminal charges have been filed against the Schoenbergers. Lee Vartan, an attorney for the Schonberger family, has said the organization has cooperated with investigators.

Motion to dismiss

Manhattan attorney Jacob Laufer, who filed the motion to dismiss the indictment, and his co-counsels, have contended the Sommers have not committed any crimes.

The motion attempts to make that case before Rockland County Judge Kevin Russo.

Six in all were charged in relation to the fire and inspections of the village, though some of those counts have been dismissed

Rockland County Court Judge Kevin Russo is hearing the case against Nathaniel and Aaron Sommer in the fatal Evergreen Court Home for Adults fire in Spring Valley in March 2021

Russo has dismissed one indictment count and upheld two against former Spring Valley Chief Building Inspector Wayne Ballard. Counts also were purportedly dropped against inspector Ray Canario, a Spring Valley fire chief.

Walsh also ended the criminal prosecutions against Denise Kerr, the facility's director, and former employee Manual Lema in December. They were given adjournments contemplation of dismissal.

Lawyer: No crime committed

Laufer challenged the assertion the Sommers caused the fire, arguing they left Evergreen more than 90 minutes before the fire was first detected.

He questioned the testimony of prosecution-cited expert Jason Green, who concluded, "with no direct evidence of the cause and origin of the fire," the "Sommers’ koshering of the kitchens" caused the fire.

"Mr. Green testified that based on his investigation, he eliminated other sources of ignition of the fire and concluded that the fire was caused the by the Sommers’ activity," Laufer's motion states.

The motion argues "Green’s conclusion was his assertion, based upon undefined and inadmissible hearsay 'research,'  that the koshering process involved heating all metal until it “glows.”

Laufer urged Russo to consider the "implausibility and illogic of the unwarranted multiple inferences that underlie" the prosecution's case. He argued the "photographs of the scene that — as a matter of law — disprove the factual fulcrum of his speculation of the cause of the fire at Evergreen Court."

The prosecution's superimposition of "Hot Work" regulations in contending that the Sommers’ conduct was “reckless” or otherwise unlawful is constitutionally impermissible," Laufer argued.

"In sum, the People misled the Grand Jury in its presentation when it characterized the use of a blowtorch during a ritual cleansing as Hot Work," he said.

Laufer argued if Russo, "does not outright dismiss this misbegotten Indictment for insufficiency," he should grant a motion that demonstrates — among other things — that the Sommers are indeed factually innocent of the charges in the Indictment."

Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal. Read more articles and bio. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers.